Out of the Dead, Cold Ashes
by 1note
Summary: Ianto Jones survived Thames House. CoE fix-it. First two chapters take place during Day 4 & 5. AU from there. Can Ianto help Jack through the worst decision he's ever had to make? Or will the immortal be forever broken by his sacrifice?
1. Resurrection

**A/N:** Well, my long bout of writers block seems to have ended and my muse is fired up. I've found a new obsession in the incredible DW spinoff Torchwood. I've seen all of seasons (or series) 1-3 and I have to say that Jack and Ianto are now one of my absolute favorite TV show couples. So, naturally, I decided to try my hand at a CoE fix-it. The first couple of chapters are set during the last 2 episodes of "Children of Earth." After that...well, you'll have to wait and see. ;-)

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

_Out of the dusk a shadow,_

_ Then, a spark;_

_Out of the cloud a silence,_

_ Then, a lark;_

_Out of the heart a rapture,_

_ Then, a pain;_

_Out of the dead, cold ashes,_

_ Life again._

—_Evolution_ by John Banister Tabb

He'd lived a long time. Lost so many people along the way. Lovers, close friends, children. Saw them perish from illness, accident, or the simple passage of time. So many deaths, and they never got any easier. The only way to keep the grief from driving him mad was to keep his distance; hold them at arm's length as long as his resolve held out, then leave them before they were inevitably taken from him.

It wasn't always this way, of course. Back when he hurled himself into Earth's late Nineteenth Century, he hadn't fully understood his own altered state. With his wrist strap broken, he resigned himself to spending the rest of his life there. He met a beautiful girl named Valerie, his first true love. After a whirlwind of a courtship, he found himself doing something he never expected of himself; he married the girl, and the two of them settled in a small cottage in the town Valerie had grown up in.

Their life together was wonderful, until a month later when Valerie developed a cough which soon worsened into pneumonia. The town's doctor (such as he was in this primitive time) held little hope for her recovery.

That night, in tears, Jack kissed his young bride for what he thought was the last time, pouring everything he had into it. By morning, Valerie had miraculously recovered. It wasn't until some time later, when he learned more about himself, that Jack understood it was his kiss that had saved her, healed her somehow.

Life went on. Valerie was soon expecting their first child. If it was a boy, Jack planned to name it Gray.

Valerie went into labor nearly a month early. Even a century later, Jack still had nightmares of waiting helplessly outside their bedroom while his wife's screams echoed behind the wooden door. The doctor and the midwife did everything they could to save her. When they finally let Jack into the room, grim-faced, all he could see was red. Red everywhere. The bed linens soaked crimson, and Valerie lying pale and still at its center. Jack kissed her again, like he had before, willing his life's energy into her body. But it wasn't enough. She was already gone.

The baby was a boy, tiny and frail, his cries so weak they could barely be heard. Both the doctor and the midwife said he would not survive the night. Jack sat on the floor in the cottage's main room with his dying child in his arms. He told the baby all about Valerie, what a beautiful person she'd been and how she would have made a wonderful mother. As the baby started gasping his last breaths, Jack kissed his tiny mouth. When dawn broke the next day, the child was still alive. And the next day. And the next. Feeding voraciously from the makeshift bottle Jack made, getting stronger all the while.

Jack knew he couldn't raise his son. His grief over his wife's death was too overwhelming. So he gave the child to Valerie's brother, whose wife had given birth to a daughter a few weeks earlier. They named the child Elias, and raised him as their own. Every few years Jack would stop by to see how his son was doing. He never approached him, though. By then Jack knew about his immortality. He watched from a distance as Elias grew up and started a family of his own, all without ever learning who his real parents were. But he looked happy. That was all that really mattered to Jack.

Over time, he worked out a little more about how the kiss worked. Those he used it on had to be on the brink of death, but not dead. He also discovered it didn't work if Jack himself was dying, as if he couldn't spare the energy then. Jack used this ability sparingly, especially after Torchwood "recruited" him. The last thing he needed was to wind up in one of their experimental labs again. Jack never told anyone about it. Except Ianto.

Jack couldn't pinpoint a specific moment when it began, but as his relationship with the Welshman deepened, he found himself sharing things with Ianto that he never told anyone before. Jack didn't tell him _everything_, but still, he realized that Ianto knew him better than anyone else in his long life. And that scared the shit out of him sometimes. Jack kept telling himself it was only a casual thing between them, even though he knew it wasn't. Despite everything, all his years of building up emotional barriers, Ianto somehow managed to find his way through the cracks.

It wasn't one-sided, either. Ianto told him everything, even the things he never shared with Lisa. Jack knew the truth about Ianto's father, his lonely childhood, his strained relationship with his sister and her family. Jack knew all his quirks and his fears, his habits and his secret shames. He knew Ianto liked to sing old commercial jingles in the shower, that he liked honey on his toast, and that he secretly enjoyed watching the occasional romantic comedy.

All those intimate details that every couple learned about, yet Jack stubbornly refused to define his relationship with Ianto as such. "I hate the word 'couple'," he'd said at the hospital when they retrieved the hitchhiker, before everything went to hell. And even though Ianto was quick to agree, Jack saw the hurt that flickered across his face for the briefest moment. They probably would've worked their way up to one hell of a row over the issue eventually, had the arrival of the 456 and the government's desperation to cover its own ass not gotten in the way.

The end of the world proved a great distraction from Jack's personal fears. At first, anyway. He didn't have to dwell on Ianto's increasing desperation to define them. Didn't have to analyze the panic that rose in him whenever he began to consider, in the quieter moments, how much the Welshman really meant to him. How deep those feeling truly ran. Deeper than his feelings for Valerie, or Estelle, or even the Doctor. Because if he let himself acknowledge these things, then he would become all too aware that, someday, inevitably, Jack would lose him.

It was foolishness, of course. All that denial did nothing to spare Jack from the soul-wrenching pain when Ianto collapsed into his arms at Thames House.

"I love you," Ianto sobbed. And all Jack could think was _please, not like this._ He couldn't say it back. Not while Ianto was dying. If he were less of a coward, Jack would have said the words long before, when they wouldn't have been tainted by desperation. Yet another in a long line of regrets.

Jack begged Ianto not to leave him, but it was beyond either of their control. He placed a last kiss on Ianto's lips, knowing it was hopeless. Jack was dying, and Ianto was already gone. The kiss could not save him. Jack collapsed beside his lover, praying that, this time, he would not wake up.

Fate was no kinder to him now than it was throughout his many other deaths. Jack woke with a quiet gasp, lying on the floor of a gymnasium that served as a makeshift morgue. All around him was red, red everywhere. Hundreds of bodies lying in neat rows, covered in red blankets to render them indistinguishable from each other. Jack wondered how many other rooms were filled with the dead. _My fault. All my fault._ His arrogant, stupid plan had brought about these deaths. He'd underestimated the 456's ruthlessness, and these people had paid the price.

Jack's head rolled to the left, saw Gwen kneeling with her back to him. She'd drawn the red blanket away from the body lying beside him, revealing Ianto's pale, still features. Jack sat up, put his arms around Gwen, and gazed down with her at his lover's body. Gwen's sobs were subdued. Jack was silent, his face a mask of grief.

The deaths of those he loved always hurt, especially the ones who died because of his actions—and there were more than a few of those. But no matter how long Jack grieved, he always found it in him to move on in the end. But not this time. Jack knew there was no recovering from this loss. The pain ran too deep, a gaping wound on his heavily scarred soul. Because he understood now, Ianto had given him back his soul. And now it was dead. It died with him.

* * *

It had been noteworthy the first few times government officials arrived at the station to speak to one or both of the new suspects in custody. These prisoners weren't the run-of-the-mill drunks or burglars that usually graced these cells. Their crimes were of a far higher caliber: treason. The PC in charge of guarding the cells didn't really know the details. The suspects certainly didn't _look_ like spies or terrorists to him. One was a young woman in her twenties, obviously scared. The other was a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties, wearing a vintage military greatcoat and exuding so much sorrow it was hard to look at him.

It had given the PC something of a thrill admitting one government bigwig after another, scrutinizing every i.d. with utmost diligence before unlocking the gate and escorting them to the appropriate cells. Yet by the time his shift was nearing its end, the flow of visitors slowed to a trickle and so had the PC's enthusiasm. So, when the young man in the tailored suit approached and held up his identification, the guard gave it only a cursory glance before having the man sign in and ushering him to the right cell.

"Call out when you're finished," the PC said, locking the door behind the young man.

Jack sat on the cell's thinly padded bunk, shoulders hunched, head down. He didn't bother looking up when his visitor arrived. He didn't care. He just wanted to get this latest interrogation over with so he could be left alone.

"Jack."

That single, half-whispered syllable sent his heart racing and a chill though him at the same time. Jack looked up at the slim figure standing by the door. _It can't be._ He got to his feet and moved to the opposite end of the cell, his red-rimmed eyes staring in disbelief.

Ianto met his mistrustful gaze with a look of anxious hope. "Jack...please say something."

"You're not here," Jack's voice quavered, "You're dead."

"I don't know what happened," Ianto said, "I woke up on the floor of a gymnasium, in Thames House. Nothing but bodies all around me. There weren't any guards. I stole an i.d. off the body of someone who looked enough like me that I figured I could pass for him. Once I stepped out of the gym, nobody gave me a second look. I guess they figured I must've belonged there. I heard someone say you were in police custody, so I left and got a cab here." He smirked. "Apparently they'll let you in anywhere if you've got a government i.d. on you."

Jack shook his head, getting more and more upset. His hands reached up and tangled themselves in his hair. "No, no, this isn't real," he choked, "I've lost my mind. I'm...I'm hallucinating."

It broke Ianto's heart to see his lover like this. He reached out a hand. "I swear I'm real. I'm alive. I don't know how, but I'm alive." He stepped closer to the cringing man. "Please, cariad, take my hand. You're not hallucinating."

Jack almost refused, almost turned his back on the ghost confronting him, but a small part of him which dared to hope made him quickly reach out and grab hold. Jack gasped at the feel of warm, living flesh which squeezed back when his fingers tightened their grip. "Ianto..."

It was hard to say who yanked the other closer. It was like a magnetic pull. They clung to each other as their mouths collided in a desperate kiss. So lost were they in each other, they didn't notice the less-than-stealthy arrival of several heavily armed, black-clad soldiers until they barged into the cell. If they were shocked to see their target snogging another man, they hid it well. Ianto was roughly shoved away as two of the soldiers grabbed Jack and started dragging him from the cell. He struggled with everything he had and shouted Ianto's name, while Ianto tried to fight his way back to him. One of the soldiers spoke rapidly into his earpiece. Jack heard the name Ianto Jones mentioned, then the soldier, who was obviously in charge of the others, ordered his men to bring Ianto as well. Neither man struggled after that. For the moment, all they really cared about was that they were still together.

They were quickly taken to the roof where a black helicopter arrived and landed before them. They all quickly boarded and Jack and Ianto were spirited away to an unknown destination. Jack didn't even question where they were going, too caught up in the wonder of the man seated across from him, miraculously alive and whole. Even the cut on his cheek, sustained in the Hub explosion, was gone. Not so much as a scar remained. _Just like when I revive,_ Jack thought, _All my injuries erased. My body restored._ How was it possible? Even when Jack was able to heal someone with the kiss, they didn't recover so perfectly.

Was it that last kiss Jack gave him before they both died? Past experience said this was impossible. Ianto was already dead, Jack dying. It shouldn't have happened, yet it did.

Ianto noticed his scrutiny and smiled; that intimate little smile reserved solely for him. Jack decided right then that he didn't care how the hell it happened. They had their second chance, and Jack wasn't going to waste another second of it with what-ifs. They would get through this. They'd find a way to defeat the 456, and then Jack intended to spend the rest of Ianto's life making the Welshman as deliriously happy as Jack felt at that moment.


	2. Sacrifice

**A/N:** OK, this chapter takes place during Day 5 of _Children of Earth_. Some of the dialog was borrowed from the episode. I don't wanna give anything away, so I'll just leave you all to it. Thanks for the Reviews, Favs, and Follows!

More Author Notes at the end of the chapter.

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

He was surrounded by armed men, hands cuffed behind him, sitting in an unmarked helicopter headed for god knew where. He should have been worried, at the very least, yet all Ianto could focus on was the man seated across from him.

When he'd woken on the cold hardwood floor in the gymnasium at Thames House, Jack's name was the first word that came to him. When he pushed the red blanket off and saw the empty space beside him, he knew Jack must have lain there and then been taken away when he revived. That was when Ianto realized something which brought a creeping sense of dread; if he was here amongst all these bodies, then it meant he must have... He quickly shoved the thought aside. He needed to focus on finding Jack. Gwen and Rhys as well, but mostly Jack if he was honest with himself. He would deal with the implications of surviving the 456's virus later.

Luckily there was no one else in the vast room, apart from the dead. He supposed guards would have been considered unnecessary. Still, he needed to be quick. Stealthily, he crept from one body to the next, lifting up blankets to peer at the faces underneath. It didn't take long to find one that bore enough of a resemblance to him for his purposes. Ianto removed the dead man's wallet and i.d. and tucked them into his inner jacket pocket. Then he simply walked out the door and mingled with the men and women busily making their way down the halls. Ianto always was good at fading into the background, and he put that talent to use as he listened in on conversations, hoping to pick up a clue as to where Jack might be. His luck continued; he overheard more than once that Captain Harkness was in police custody. Ianto left Thames House and hailed a cab, using the cash from the dead man's wallet to pay the fare.

Ianto never saw Jack so broken. Sitting in that bare cell, overcome with grief. At first Ianto feared Jack wouldn't believe that it was really him. It didn't help that he had no real explanation for his miraculous survival. But he got through to him. Ianto didn't even try to hold back the tears when he and Jack desperately clung to each other. He wished they could hold each other now.

Ianto shifted restlessly in his handcuffs. The soldiers on either side of him threw warning glances and tightened their hold on their weapons. Ianto rolled his eyes; as if he was going to try a daring escape from hundreds of feet in the air.

Across from him, Jack smirked as if reading his mind.

A second helicopter came into view as they apparently neared their destination. They began to descend together, and Jack and Ianto craned their necks to see where they were. Their eyes met as they recognized the rundown building where Jack had been held prisoner after the Hub's destruction. Was it really only a couple of days ago? So much had happened, it felt like ages.

Once they'd landed, the soldiers hustled them out and led them towards the building. Ianto saw the second helicopter disgorging soldiers carrying crates of equipment and files, as well as an older man, also restrained. Ianto remembered him from Thames House; Mr. Decker, the man who'd spent the last forty years studying the 456's transmissions.

More soldiers were gathered at the building's entrance, along with a woman whose severe features were no doubt going to haunt Jack's newest batch of nightmares for some time. The pitiless Agent Johnson. Jack and Ianto tensed at the unwelcome sight of her. Johnson marched over to them and fixed the two men with a hard stare; Jack first, then Ianto.

"How the hell are you still alive?" she growled at the Welshman.

Jack butted in before Ianto had a chance to formulate a response, "You gonna waste time asking questions, or are you going to tell us why we're here?"

If anything, Johnson's expression grew even stonier. But Jack was right; her questions could wait. "This way," she said tersely, setting a brisk pace as she led them into the building.

Decker and his "escort" went in first, followed by Jack, then Ianto. Ianto was startled when a little blonde-haired boy suddenly ran up and hugged Jack.

"Uncle Jack!"

The older man laughed, "Hey, soldier!"

A woman who looked to be about Jack's apparent age—mid to late thirties—called out to the boy, "We haven't got time!"

"Listen," Jack said, smiling down at the youngster, "Stay with your mom, okay?"

Reluctantly, the boy let go and allowed his mother to lead him away. Ianto watched them leave, brow furrowed in thought. "Is that..."

"Yeah," Jack replied, "Alice and Steven."

Jack's daughter and grandson. Ianto suddenly felt far too young.

They were taken to an open space where computers and equipment were already being set up. Judging from the puddles everywhere, the building's roof was not in the best condition, especially against the typical Welsh weather. It made Ianto somewhat nervous of all the wires and cables everywhere.

While the handcuffs were being removed, Johnson stated in a businesslike tone, "This should be everything you need, and if it's not, we'll find it."

"For what?" Jack asked, rubbing the feeling back into his wrists.

"Wavelengths. The 456 are named after a wavelength and that's gotta be the key to fighting back."

Ianto bit back a groan. Why the hell didn't _they_ think of that? Of Tosh were still alive, it would have been the first thing she'd have tried.

"You're wasting your time," Decker stated flatly, "There's nothing you can do. I've analyzed those transmissions for forty years and never-"

In a single fluid movement, Johnson drew her sidearm, shot Decker in the leg, and re-holstered her weapon without so much as a blink. The old man toppled to the damp floor with a scream, clutching his bleeding leg.

"What do you think, Captain?" Johnson nodded towards Alice, who'd entered the room at some point without her son, "She told me you were good. Was she right?"

Jack turned to look at his daughter, then smiled at the faith he saw in her eyes. He looked at Ianto, and his smile broadened at the younger man's confident nod.

"Let's get to work." Jack removed his greatcoat, rolled up his shirtsleeves. Ianto followed his lead and the two men began working in tandem at the computers, their actions flowing together with wordless ease.

"Give us access to the Torchwood software," Ianto ordered. One of the soldiers hurried to comply. Ianto logged onto the servers. Soon the familiar background that reminded him of an underwater creature came up on the monitors. Ianto smiled in satisfaction. "Welcome back."

Decker, leaning heavily on a nearby crate, persisted in being the voice of doom despite his injury. "It still won't work. There's nothing on there. It's useless!"

Jack glared at the old man. "We've got technology way beyond you."

"We hacked into Torchwood years ago, you idiot!" Decker snapped, "There's _nothing!_"

Alice's voice broke into the argument, "Dad, come and look at this." She was standing at another computer which seemed to be streaming images from the web.

Ianto tried to hide his reaction to the older woman calling Jack dad. But as he watched his lover move to stand beside her, the reality of Jack's immortality hit home for Ianto in a far more personal way than it ever did before. There was Alice, fast approaching middle wage, while her father remained untouched by time. _In ten years, I'll look the same age as him,_ Ianto thought, _In twenty, I'll be going gray. In thirty years...Jesus, will he even want to be with me anymore when I'm old and wrinkled? When my bones get brittle and my mind addles and everyone thinks I'm his grandfather? Will he still be there to push me around in a wheelchair?_ That was somewhat optimistic, thought. There was still every chance that Ianto would die young. Especially given the state of the world now.

"They're taking the children," Alice murmured. Her arms were wrapped around herself as if to shield her from the pirated images of full schoolbuses ferrying the unlucky children to their doom.

Ianto's throat tightened. "My niece and nephew might be on one of those buses."

Jack turned to him, gripped his shoulders in his strong hands. "I convinced Frobisher to let Gwen and Rhys go to your sister to inform her of..." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Of my death," Ianto stated, his voice calm.

Jack nodded. "I told Gwen about your niece and nephew. She'll do everything she can to keep them safe."

Ianto smiled at him in gratitude. At least Mica and David had a slim chance. Unlike so many others.

They redoubled their efforts, throwing ideas back and forth in a desperate search for some kind of plan, some tactic they could use against the 456. The minutes ticked by and their sense of urgency grew. They didn't have days or even hours, they needed something _now_.

"If we cycle the wavelength back at them," Jack began.

"I know what you're trying to do," Decker interjected, "A constructive wave." His face creased in its habitual expression of wry cynicism. "Do you think people aren't working on that all over the world? But it's never going to work. The effect would be like shouting at the 456, that's all. Just shouting."

Everyone fell silent. They were beginning to lose all hope of a solution. Then Ianto saw a spark of an idea in Jack's eyes.

"Why did Clem die?"

"It was the 456 that killed him," Johnson answered.

"But how did they do it? _Why_ did they do it?"

"We've got the recording here." Johnson called up the file on one of the computers. A strange howling noise emitted from the speakers.

"His mind must have synced to the 456 back when he was a child," Ianto speculated.

"But they didn't need to kill him," Jack said, "He wasn't any threat... Unless maybe that connection hurt them."

His eyes met Ianto's, hope daring to surface in them once again. Jack quickly beckoned to Decker and the old man limped over. "That sound, Mr. Decker," Jack indicated the computer, "What's that sound?"

The foremost expert on the 456 shook his head. "I don't know. It's new."

"Exactly," Jack grinned, "It's new."

"We don't have to analyze the wavelength, just copy it," Ianto declared, "Turn it into a constructive wave."

Jack's grin abruptly fell. "But we've got no way of transmitting."

"Of course you have," Decker stated quietly.

Jack looked at him for a long moment, then turned away, jaws clenched. "Shut up."

Decker ignored him. "Same way as them."

"I'll find something else," Jack insisted. He gripped the edge of a table until his knuckles turned white.

"What does he mean?" Ianto asked, but deep down he already knew.

"Don't listen to him," Jack hissed.

But Decker would not keep silent. "The 456 used children to establish the resonance. We need a child."

Alice's voice carried a hint of dread as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"Center of the resonance," he chuckled without humor, "That child's going to fry."

Alice stared at Jack in growing terror. He wasn't saying no. "Dad?" her voice quavered, "No, Dad. Don't let them do this."

"It's one child or millions," Johnson said, remorse obvious on her normally stoic features. "We're running out of time."

"No, Dad!"

Jack stood in silent anguish, caught between knowing what must be done and denying its terrible price. He'd done so many horrific things in his long life. Things he would never forgive himself for. But this...this would be the sin that finally broke him. No matter how much good came of it, or what heroics he did after this, Jack would spend the rest of eternity knowing that he was a monster.

If only they had more time! Just a few hours to find another way. But it was too late. The children were already being taken to drop points all over the world. There was no time. If they didn't act now, millions of innocents would be lost to a fate worse than death.

Tears stung Jack's eyes. Why did the hardest decisions always come down to him?

A touch on his arm drew him from his turmoil. He turned his head to find Ianto at his side. But instead of the condemnation he'd expected to find in his gaze, the Welshman's blue eyes held only empathy.

Ianto squeezed his arm, then turned to Johnson and gave her a nod of ascent, sparing the Captain this impossible decision. Johnson ordered her men to bring Steven. Alice raced ahead of them, screaming her son's name. Moments later the soldiers returned, one of them carrying the frightened boy over his shoulder. Steven was placed on a circular platform in the center of the surrounding equipment. It would be used to transmit the constructive wave through him.

Alice was locked outside. She stood at the windows, banging her fists against the wire mesh reinforced glass and shouting at her son to run away.

Confused and frightened, Steven looked at the faces surrounding him and focused on the one he trusted most. "What're we doing, Uncle Jack? What's happening?"

Jack was at the main terminal, readying the program. At the sound of his grandson's timid voice, his rapid keystrokes slowed as the guilt threatened to engulf him again. He looked at Steven, so innocent and unaware of his tragic fate. Looked at Ianto, who needed no words to understand what Jack needed. He moved to take Jack's place at the computer and continue working while Jack approached the boy.

Jack knelt before the child and held his arms out. "C'mere, soldier."

Steven went to him, visibly calming once Jack's large hands gripped his thin shoulders in reassurance. Jack struggled to hide the tears he felt stinging his eyes and gave the boy a warm smile. "You know those aliens that've been making you say things?"

The boy nodded.

"They're bad guys. _Really _bad. They're forcing the world to give them millions of kids just like you."

"What for?"

"To hurt them."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Steven. Aliens are like people that way. Most are good, but some...some are just evil." Jack gave the boy's shoulders a gentle squeeze. "We can stop them from taking all those kids, but we need your help to do it."

"What do you want me to do?" Steven asked.

"Just stand right here," he said, "and we'll use you to send a signal to the aliens that'll hurt them and make them run away."

"That's all? Just stand here?" The boy seemed relieved by such a simple request.

Jack chewed his lip, then made a decision. "Yes. But if you do this, you'll die."

"Captain!" Johnson shouted.

Jack ignored her. "You don't have to do this, Steven. Say no and I'll let you go home with your mom right now."

He could see all the conflicting thoughts running through Steven's head. The boy was old enough to understand death. Maybe not with the same depth as an adult, but he knew enough that the thought of dying frightened him. The fact that his mother was still screaming from the window didn't help his state of mind. He'd never seen her so panicked.

"C-Can't you get another kid to do it?"

Jack shook his head. "We wouldn't find one in time."

Steven glanced at the computer monitor showing the footage of the children being gathered at one of the drop points. "The aliens'll get the kids?"

"Yes."

"My friends from school, they'll all be gone?"

"Not all of them," Jack said, "But a lot of them."

The child met the older man's blue eyes with his own. "Will it hurt?"

And to his shock, he saw his Uncle Jack's expression change into one he'd never seen on a grown man before. He looked like he was going to cry.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Jack choked, "I'm sorry. It isn't fair to ask you this. I'm so sorry."

"Jack," Ianto's quiet voice broke in, "It's ready."

"We're almost out of time," Johnson added.

"Uncle Jack," Steven's lip trembled, "Would you hate me if I said no?"

Jack pulled the boy into a hug. "Of course not. I'll love you no matter what."

Steven buried his face in the crook of Jack's neck, breathed in the scent he always found so comforting and familiar. "...okay."

Jack drew back so he could look the boy in the eye. "You'll do it?"

Steven nodded, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Jack was glad he felt no relief at the child's answer. He kissed his grandson on the forehead, whispered, "You're the bravest person I've ever known," then stood and walked back to where Ianto waited by the computer. His finger hovered over the enter button.

"I'm scared, Uncle Jack," the boy sobbed.

"I know, and that's okay. Just keep looking at me." Jack pressed the button. "I love you, Steven."

* * *

**A/N cont'd:** I really did try to think of a way to end this chapter differently, but I honestly feel like there was no other solution, given how little time they had left. Sorry if this bummed you out. :-( I promise things'll start getting better.


	3. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

Ianto knew the sight of Steven's final moments would stay with him for the rest of his life. As would the sounds of Alice's grief-stricken wails as she cradled her child's body in her arms.

Johnson, the soldiers, and even the terminally jaded Decker had all looked away. But Jack's gaze remained steadfast on his grandson throughout the ordeal, and Ianto had looked on with him. They'd gripped each other's hands so tightly they left deep bruises which took a long time to fade.

When it was over, Jack and Ianto walked out into the hall and sat side by side on a narrow bench against the wall. Neither of them spoke, or even looked at each other. A moment of silence for the child who'd given his life. A silence broken by the thud of the door. Alice stood there, looking at her father, her expression unreadable. Jack met his daughter's eyes, ready to accept whatever judgment she made. She never said a word. With an unmistakable sense of finality, Alice turned away and walked back through the door she'd come through.

Ianto watched Jack get to his feet and go in the opposite direction, towards a door which led outside. There were no guards to stop him. Ianto stood just when Jack pushed the door open. The younger man squinted as daylight blazed in, rendering the immortal into a blurry silhouette. Ianto followed Jack through the door, keeping a few paces between them to concede Jack's desire for solitude. Jack marched along with no particular destination for several minutes before he finally came to a halt. There wasn't much of a view; they were miles from any town or city. Nothing but barren countryside as far as the eye could see.

Tentative, Ianto closed the distance between them until he was at Jack's side once again. The older man didn't turn to acknowledge his presence, but he did speak: "How can you even look at me?"

"I'm as responsible as you are," Ianto reminded him gently.

"No," Jack shook his head, still not looking at him, "It's my fault. It's always my fault. Steven, and Tosh, and Owen, and Suzie; they're all dead because of me. _You_ died," and now he finally glanced at him, "because of me."

Ianto reached out, gripped his arm. "It was my decision to be there, Jack. What happened wasn't your fault. None of it."

Jack squeezed his eyes closed, the last of his control slipping away. "I killed my grandson!" And with those words, he broke down crying.

Ianto pulled the older man into a tight embrace. He didn't say anything—nothing he could say would ever make this better—just held his lover as they both wept.

* * *

While the two men grieved, the rest of the world began its own emotional upheaval. The families of the chosen ten percent of Earth's children were dizzy with relief, even as they loudly condemned the governments that betrayed them. Prime Minister Brian Green was not the only head-of-state to be ousted over the next few months. The world experienced a sociopolitical upheaval whose consequences would be felt for years to come.

None of that mattered so much to Jack, Ianto, Gwen, and Rhys, apart from the fact that they were no longer on the run.

Johnson's men dropped Jack and Ianto off at their request at the abandoned Torchwood warehouse where they found the car belonging to Ianto's brother-in-law still parked. Jack drove most of the way back to Cardiff. He barely said more than two words the entire time; Ianto didn't push him. The Welshman spent much of the journey wishing they had a phone so he could call his sister, let her know he wasn't dead. She was going to get the shock of her life when he showed up at her door.

The streets of Ianto's childhood estate were crowded with tearful parents reunited with their children. Jack maneuvered the car with care through the crowds while Ianto gave him directions. They found Rhiannon, Johnny, and the kids outside their house, all sharing embraces with their neighbors whose children they'd tried to smuggle to safety when the soldiers arrived to collect them. Gwen and Rhys were there as well. None seemed worse for wear, though Johnny did sport a few bruises from his run-in with the soldiers.

Mica was the first to spot Ianto getting out of the car. The little girl grabbed her mother's hand and pointed excitedly, drawing everyone's attention to the approaching men. Rhiannon and Johnny, Gwen and Rhys, all stood agape as the purportedly dead man approached. Rhiannon shook off her astonishment and ran to her brother, almost knocking him over as she flung her arms around him. That seemed to be the cue for the rest to mob him with tearful hugs.

Jack watched it all from beside the car, reluctant to join in on the joyful reunion.

"How?" Gwen exclaimed, "I _saw_ you! You were-"

"I don't know," was Ianto's honest reply, "It just happened. One minute there was nothing, the next I woke up."

"You daft sod!" Rhiannon slapped his arm, "Don't ever put me through that again!"

"I'll try my best not to." Ianto turned to Johnny, grinned. "Brought back your car." He tossed him the keys.

"Cheers, man!" Johnny beamed.

"It needs petrol, though."

Johnny's grin faded a little.

"You sure you're alright?" Gwen persisted. Not that Ianto blamed her.

"I'm fine," he promised.

Rhi and her husband invited them all into the house. They had a lot to talk about. Jack begged off, however. "I need some air," he said, which Ianto knew meant he was going to find a roof to brood on.

Ianto gave the older man a worried look. "You will come back?"

"Yeah."

"If you don't," the Welshman continued, "I'll look for you, and I won't stop 'til I find you."

Despite his bleak mood, the corner of Jack's mouth twitched upward in a crooked smile. "I believe you."

"Alright, then." Ianto watched his lover walk away, head down, hands shoved into the pockets of his greatcoat.

It was pushing into evening when Ianto finally left the Davies house. He'd given his family the censored version of how he, Jack, and Decker devised a way to defeat the 456. He didn't tell them about Steven's tragic role. They didn't need to hear about that after almost losing their own children earlier that day. He could tell from Gwen's expression that she knew he was leaving something out, but had the sense to save it for another time. The look she'd seen on Jack's face was enough to tell her it was something horrible.

Rhiannon saw her brother off at the door. "So that man who was with you, he's your boss?"

"Yes."

"The man you've been dating?"

"Yes," Ianto sighed wearily.

Rhi smirked. "He really is a gorgeous one." Her expression sobered a little. "Something awful happened to him, didn't it?"

Ianto sighed again, sadder this time. "Yeah. I don't think anyone will ever understand what he had to sacrifice to save the children."

"You do," Rhianna said. She smiled, gave her brother one last hug, then a less-than-gentle shove out the door. "Go on, then. Go take care of that man of yours."

Ianto smiled and walked in the direction he last saw Jack go. With the daylight fading, the temperature began to drop. Ianto tucked his hands into his jacket pockets, wishing he had something warmer. Once the buildings around him got taller, he started scanning the rooftops in hopes of catching a glimpse of Jack.

He ended up finding the immortal sooner than he expected. Jack stood on the very edge of the roof of an abandoned hotel, backlit by the city lights, greatcoat billowing around him dramatically. Finding a way into the derelict building was a fairly simple task. From the look of things, the place had no shortage of squatters, though none were visible at the moment. Ianto was glad to discover that the stairs were sound. He was also grateful for the fact that the hotel was only eight stories tall; much shorter than Jack's usual preferences. Ianto made his way up to the roof without incident (though a tad out of breath) and found jack standing right where he saw him from below, perched atop the low wall separating the roof's edge from the eight-story drop. Drawing closer, Ianto noticed the toes of Jack's boots jutted over the edge.

"Scared I'm gonna jump?" Jack asked without turning.

Ianto didn't answer. He seated himself on the low wall beside Jack and twisted around so his legs dangled over the side. He kicked his feet like a bored kid, ignoring the sheer drop before him. After a moment, Jack sighed and lowered himself so the two men sat side-by-side. They gazed out at the twinkling city.

"It's a lovely view," Ianto commented, "Figured you'd choose a bigger building, though."

"Size isn't everything," Jack muttered. A weak joke, yet it reassured the Welshman. Under all the grief and pain, his Jack was still there.

"How did it go with the family?" the older man asked.

"Lot of questions," Ianto said, "Lot of crying. Lot of theories and speculation."

"About you?" It was the first time either of them had brought up Ianto's resurrection since they were taken from the police station.

Ianto shook his head. "About the 456. What they wanted the children for." They still didn't know, though there was no shortage of rumors. Everything from the kids being used as sex slaves, to food, to extracting chemicals from their bodies for some unknown purpose. Nothing sounded too farfetched to the remaining members of Torchwood.

"So nobody had anything to say about you coming back from the dead?"

The younger man shifted uncomfortably. "We mainly danced around the subject. Rhi seems to think it was a case of mistaken identity or that whoever checked my vitals messed up somehow. Everyone else went along with that idea."

"Even Gwen?" There was more than a hint of surprise in Jack's voice.

Ianto smirked. "I managed to make my escape before she could corner me."

Jack snorted. "You're gonna pay for that later."

"I know." Ianto shifted his position again. "So. That's another threat to the world sorted. On to the next one?"

The older man let out a bitter chuckle. "Sure."

"We'll need to rebuild the Hub first," Ianto carried on, "Or perhaps find a new base of operations altogether since the last one's obviously compromised."

Jack's entire body seemed to wilt under a weariness so profound Ianto feared he might topple off the roof. "Jack?" He gripped the immortal's shoulder.

Jack sighed, ran a hand over his careworn face. "I can't do it anymore, Yan. It's too much. And I'm so damned tired."

Ianto wasn't surprised by this confession; Jack had given over a century of his life to Torchwood, sacrificed so much in its name. Too much. It was past time for him to move on. He didn't owe Torchwood a damned thing.

"Okay," the Welshman said quietly, "But the rift is still out there. We should at least help get a new team started before we get on with our lives."

Jack peered at him from the corner of one bleary eye. "We?"

Ianto fidgeted. "Well, yes...er..."

"You never talked about quitting before. Not even after Lisa. Why now?"

Ianto moved his hand from Jack's shoulder to cup the older man's face. "When you returned after running off with the Doctor, remember what you said to me?"

"I came back for you," Jack replied in a near whisper.

The younger man nodded. "And I stayed for you."

Jack reached up to grip Ianto's wrist. "I don't think I can stay in Cardiff. There's too many memories here."

"Then we'll travel," the Welshman responded easily, "I've always wanted to see more of the world. And we're definitely due for a long vacation." He smiled.

They shared a moment of silence before Jack squeezed Ianto's wrist and said, "Let's go. It's getting cold up here."

Ianto groaned, "Thank Christ. My arse is falling asleep."

Jack managed a faint chuckle as he helped the younger man to his feet and the two of them headed for the stairway. Just as they neared the landing, Ianto paused and turned to the older man. "Jack. What we did...I have to live with it, too."

Ianto was good at hiding his emotions, but Jack had learned to read the subtle cues, provided he made the effort. He hadn't done that lately, too caught up in his own grief. But now he looked. Despite the dim light and the anguish clouding his own thoughts, Jack finally saw the guilt and sorrow weighing the younger man down. Yet he kept up a strong façade so that Jack had someone to lean on. Jack realized he should do no less for his Welshman. Because the only thing worse than bearing these emotions was doing it alone.

Jack wrapped his arms around the younger man and pulled him into a tight embrace. After a few seconds he felt Ianto tremble as he began to let go of his self-control. Jack threaded the fingers of one hand through Ianto's short hair, kissed the side of his neck, and rocked their bodies gently from side to side while the Welshman silently cried.

* * *

As soon as they returned to the Davies house, Gwen practically ambushed them before they even had the chance to remove their coats. "Jack, Johnson phoned."

Both men tensed. What could the government agent possibly want with them now?

"She said it was about someone named Steven," Gwen said, "Jack, who's Steven?"

Jack ignored the question. "What about Steven?" His voice shook. His heart started to race as Gwen spoke the words he both hoped for and feared.

"He's alive."


	4. Rebirth

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

Alice had refused to believe her child was dead. Johnson only had the medic check the boy to humor her, but to everyone's shock, a weak pulse was found. Johnson immediately had Steven and his mother airlifted to the nearest Unit medical facility.

"Don't tell my father," Alice half-pleaded, half-demanded of the government agent, "He doesn't deserve to know."

Perhaps she took Johnson's silence for assent. If so, she was mistaken. Once the helicopter was in the air, Johnson phoned Ianto's sister, hoping Ianto and Jack were there, or that she could at least get in touch with them. It turned out the two men were not there, but their colleague, Gwen Cooper, was. Once they got past the mutual hostility and distrust, Johnson was able to leave a message and contact number for Jack.

Less than ten minutes later, Johnson's mobile rang. She answered on the first ring, "Johnson."

_"Where is he?"_

"Hello, Captain Harkness. He's been taken to a Unit-run medical facility. He'll be well taken care of there; they have access to technology not found in any other hospital on the planet."

_"Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?" _he growled suspiciously.

Johnson let out an irritated sigh. "I would have done if you and Jones hadn't been so eager to scarper off. Neither one of you had phones on you. I wasn't even sure you'd be at Rhianna Davies's home."

Jack's answering sigh carried an air of grudging acceptance. _"Where's this facility?"_

"If you'd like I can send a 'copter to take you there."

_"And why would you do that? Why'd you bother contacting me at all, for that matter?"_

"Your actions saved millions of lives, Captain," she replied, "I feel we owe you."

Jack seemed to mull it over, then he gave her a location to pick him up.

* * *

"I'm going with you," Gwen said as soon as Jack hung up the phone.

The immortal shook his head. "No. This isn't Torchwood, Gwen. This... It's family," he swallowed thickly, "Stay here with Rhys."

"You can't go there alone, Jack," Gwen argued, "What if it's some kind of trick?"

"He won't be alone," Ianto spoke, drawing their attention, "I'll be with him."

Jack was about to argue when the Welshman gripped his arm and said, "I'm living with this, too. Remember?"

The older man's objections died on his lips. The truth was, he didn't want to face whatever lay ahead alone. He took Ianto's hand in his own, gave it a grateful squeeze. "Okay."

They said their goodbyes to Ianto's family as well as Gwen and Rhys. As Jack embraced her, Gwen whispered into his ear, "Come back safely. Whatever it takes."

Jack pressed a kiss to her temple, then he and Ianto left for the rendezvous.

Moments later, standing together atop yet another tall building, Jack glanced at the younger man beside him and stated, "You're exhausted."

Ianto snorted, "So are you."

Jack tried to remember the last time either one of them got any real sleep. Thinking about it made the weariness all the more noticeable, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. They would go and see Steven, Jack vowed to himself, then he and Ianto would find a room at the nearest habitable hotel and spend the next few days hibernating.

The sound of beating rotors drew the immortal from his reverie. Jack's greatcoat billowed around him as the gleaming black helicopter landed. The two men hunched down and ran to the waiting 'copter. Once they were helped aboard and settled in their seats, the pilot lifted off.

Even flying, it was quite a distance from Cardiff to wherever in London the Unit facility was located. Ianto's eyelids grew heavier, despite the noise of the rotors. He felt Jack's arm around him, gently urging him to lean against the older man. Ianto rested his head on his lover's shoulder, let the exhaustion draw him into much-needed sleep. He wasn't sure how long he dozed. Before he knew it, Jack was shaking him awake. Ianto squinted out the window, saw the glow of predawn behind the cityscape. The helicopter was lowering itself onto a helipad atop a nondescript, utilitarian building. Uniformed soldiers in distinct red caps waited for them to land, along with a young woman in a white lab coat and a man in dark civilian clothing. Ianto recognized the woman and smiled. He looked at Jack, saw an even broader grin on the older man's face.

Jack practically leapt from the helicopter the second it touched down and ran to the beaming woman, scooping her up in his arms and spinning her around. "Martha Jones, voice of a nightingale!"

"That's Jones-_Smith_ now," she laughed. The moment Jack set her down, she went to Ianto, who'd approached at a more dignified pace, and embraced him with the same affection. "Ianto, I'm so glad you're alive. I'd seen your name on the casualty reports from Thames House."

"I wish I could tell you how I made it," Ianto smiled.

Martha drew back, surprised. "You mean..."

"I _was_ dead, apparently. And then...I wasn't," he shrugged.

Martha looked at him, looked at Jack, who was chatting up the dark clothed man. Ianto heard the words Mickey Mouse and Captain Courageous exchanged.

"Was it Jack?" she asked, keeping her voice low so only Ianto heard, "Did he bring you back somehow?"

"I really don't know. Neither does he."

Martha nodded, then wisely dropped the subject for the time being. "Let me introduce you to my husband."

After Ianto and Mickey exchanged greetings, Martha escorted the newcomers into the facility. Inside, there was little to distinguish it from any other hospital. Same harsh fluorescent lighting, same sterile halls, same disinfectant smells. The Unit soldiers passing them in the halls were the only obvious difference at first, but Ianto caught glimpses of equipment his experienced eye identified as modified alien technology. If ordinary citizens knew the kind of miracles Unit's doctors worked in places like this...

Martha brought them to a halt in front of a nondescript door. She turned to Jack, her expression sober. "You need to prepare yourself."

Jack squared his shoulders. "What's his condition?"

"He's sustained massive cerebral trauma. There's no sign of any higher brain functions, and we've used every advanced piece of equipment at our disposal. Only the brainstem is functioning, and that is beginning to fail as well. We had to put him on life support." Throughout her explanation, Martha's eyes held a depth of sorrow for her friend that made Ianto realize Steven's odds were very slim.

Jack saw this, too. His voice cracked a little as he asked, "What are his chances?"

Martha bit her lip, shook her head. Her eyes shone with tears. "I'm sorry, Jack. We tried everything we could. The damage is just too severe."

Jack's grief threatened to break through his stoic façade. Wordlessly, he reached out and Ianto took his hand. Both drew strength from the simple contact. Jack took a breath, "I need to see him."

Martha nodded and reached for the door handle.

"What are you doing here?" The harsh voice startled them all into looking behind them where they saw a glaring Alice holding a steaming paper cup of tea in her hand. The brunt of her anger was focused solely on Jack. "Haven't you done enough?"

"I just need to see him one last time," Jack answered in a quiet voice, "Then I'll be out of your life forever."

"No." Her tightening grip threatened to spill hot tea over her hand. "You're not going anywhere near him. You did this to him."

"Steven agreed to do it," Jack explained, "He knew what would happen, but he wanted to help save those millions who would've been taken. He's a hero."

"He's a child!" Alice flung her tea. The paper cup landed on the floor less than a foot away, splashing its contents over their ankles. Alice spun on Martha. "Get him out of here. I want him out!"

While Martha tried to calm her, Jack met Ianto's gaze and gave a faint nod. Ianto nodded back, and the two men suddenly rushed through the door into Steven's room, slamming the door shut behind them.

"No locks," Ianto observed. He leaned his weight against the door while on the other side Alice screamed and beat her fists against it.

Jack stood at the foot of the hospital bed, gazing down at his grandson. Steven looked so much smaller, lying in the bed that was too big for him, hooked to tubes and wires, surrounded by equipment that blinked and beeped. His eyes were closed, body perfectly still. He was fed oxygen through a tube down his throat.

Tears fell down Jack's cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Steven."

The thumps on the door got louder. There were other voices now; soldiers, most likely. They were trying to force the door open. Ianto planted his feet and pushed back. "We don't have long."

"I don't need long." Jack moved to the side of the bed. He reached for Steven's breathing tube.

"Jack!"

He looked at the Welshman. "Remember when Lisa threw you across the Hub?"

Ianto swallowed the lump that formed at the memory of one of the worst days of his life. "I remember."

"Your neck was broken. You were dying."

Ianto blinked in surprise. "But I woke up. I..." he frowned in thought, "I thought you resuscitated me."

Jack shook his head. "I healed you."

A hard thud shoved Ianto forward a few inches. He quickly slammed his body against the door and managed to shut it again. "Can you heal Steven?"

"I can try." Without hesitation, Jack grasped the tube and pulled it from Steven's throat. The boy immediately started to choke while the monitoring equipment bleeped in alarm. Jack gently cupped his grandson's face in both hands and kissed him on the mouth. Ianto was never sure, but he thought he saw a faint glow surround them for a moment. Steven's arms started flailing. Jack broke the kiss and backed off.

Ianto took that as his cue to jump away from the door. Alice, Martha, Mickey, and a couple of soldiers burst in to find both men standing beside the hospital bed where Steven was sitting up, a confused look on his face.

"Steven!" Alice rushed to her son's side, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his face all over. "Oh, my god. My baby."

Ianto felt a weight begin to lift from him as he watched the scene unfold. But then he noticed something; Steven's puzzled frown didn't fade when he looked at his mother. It was almost as if...

Alice started to notice as well. "Steven?" She cradled his face in her hands, gazed into his clear eyes. "Steven, it's me. It's Mummy."

The child didn't respond. He stared at the woman before him without a trace of recognition.

* * *

Jack's kiss saved Steven's life, but not his memories. His brain was fully healed, but the memories, every moment of his short life, were gone.

Alice entered the sparsely furnished room where the facility's security guards placed her father and his companion. It wasn't quite a cell, but there was a lock on the door which required a keycard to get in. One of the soldiers standing watch was kind enough to let her in.

Jack and Ianto were seated at a small table, each nursing a cup of coffee. Jack stood upon seeing his daughter while Ianto remained seated.

Alice approached her father, calmer now than she'd been an hour ago, her gaze level. She stopped an arm's length from him. "You saved my son's life," she stated, "I'm grateful for that. But the person he was, the little boy I raised for nine years, is gone. Likely forever. He'll relearn how to walk, how to speak. He'll go back to school, make new friends, live his life. But he won't be the same Steven. You saved him, but you're also the one who killed him."

Jack didn't respond. Nothing she said was untrue.

Alice took a step closer, shrinking the distance between them. When she spoke, there was no trace of spite, nor kindness. "I want your word," she said, "that you'll stay away from us. Don't visit. Don't call or write. Don't watch us from a distance or keep tabs on us to see how we are. We're no longer your family. Do you understand."

Jack nodded slowly.

"I need to hear you say it."

He managed to get the words out, "You have my word."

Alice stared at him for another beat, then turned away and left the room without a backward glance. It was the last time Jack ever saw her.

The immortal lowered himself into his vacated chair, feeling every year of his too-long life. "I saved her son, and I still lost them both."

"I'm sorry, Jack." The compassion in Ianto's voice brought tears to his eyes.

"Doesn't matter," he sighed, bowed his head, "Everyone leaves me."

Ianto scooted his chair closer to Jack's, placed his hand on the back of the older man's neck and rubbed gently. "I won't leave you."

Jack looked at the Welshman with a sad smile. "Yeah, you will. Someday you'll walk away, or be killed, or time will take you from me." The finality in his tone was far more tragic than any amount of sobbing. Ianto wished with all his heart he could argue against the inevitable. All he could say was: "I can't do anything about dying, but I promise I will never walk away." Then he screwed up his courage and said, "I love you, Jack."

Jack didn't shy from the words. Instead, he brought his hand to Ianto's cheek and slowly leaned in until their lips met in a soft kiss.


	5. Getaway

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

About an hour later the door opened and Martha entered, much to the relief of both men; they could do with a friendly face about now. Martha no longer wore her lab coat. Instead, she had on a leather jacket with her purse hanging over her shoulder. "You need to come with me," she said without preamble, "Mickey's hacked into the security feed and set it on a loop, but it won't last long."

Jack and Ianto didn't waste time asking why. They quickly got to their feet, grabbed their coats from the backs of the chairs, and put them on.

"What about the guards?" Jack asked.

Martha smirked. "I gave them new 'orders' directing them to Sanderson in R and D. Sanderson's so absent-minded, he'll think he really did ask for them and then forgot what he needed them for. He'll keep them busy."

The three of them left the room and walked down the hall at a brisk pace, but not so fast they drew attention to themselves from those they passed. They took a lift down to the ground floor, then reached the exit where Martha flashed her Unit badge to the guards. The half-bored soldiers didn't even ask her why she had Jack and Ianto with her. They probably assumed the two men had either been released or were turned over to Martha's custody for some reason. Once outside the facility, they hurried to the car park where they found Mickey waiting with a nondescript four-door car at the ready. They all clambered into the vehicle—Martha up front with her husband, Ianto and Jack in the back—and Mickey drove away.

"Mind telling me why you felt you had to stage this little jailbreak?" Jack questioned, though he already suspected what the answer would be.

"Everyone's talking about Steven's unexplainable recovery," Martha replied, "They know you had something to do with it. Add to that Ianto's sudden resurrection, and they were all _very_ interested in seeing what makes you tick."

Jack leaned back in his seat with a heavy sigh. He wasn't surprised. It was a risk he knew he was taking when he decided to try to save his grandson. He reached out with both hands to squeeze Martha's and Mickey's shoulders. "Thanks. I wasn't looking forward to spending the next few decades stuck in a lab."

"Won't this get you into trouble?" Ianto asked.

Mickey's reflection in the rearview mirror revealed his signature cheeky grin. "Nah. I'm good at coverin' our tracks."

"Besides," Martha added, "I resigned as of five minutes ago. My supervisor's got my email by now."

"We're going freelance!" Mickey boasted, "The Jones-Smiths. Kickin' alien arse and taking names!"

They all had a chuckle over that. Then they sobered as the reality of the situation set in.

"We can't go back to Cardiff, can we?" Ianto murmured.

Jack placed a comforting hand on the Welshman's knee. "You could. But they'll keep looking for me. I doubt they're gonna let this...ability I have go."

Ianto looked at him. "I told you, I'm not walking away. I'm staying with you."

Jack smiled in gratitude. He knew he should argue for Ianto's safety, but the truth was he didn't think he could let the younger man go. Not after losing so much already.

"We need to find a way to get in touch with Gwen and your family."

Mickey spoke up, "No worries." He tossed a mobile phone over his shoulder, which Jack caught. "Untraceable. I'm also workin' on setting up knew identities for the two of you. Should have it all sorted by tomorrow. 'Til then, I got you a room at a hotel under the name Smith. Figured that'd be a safe enough name. Here's your room's keycard." He passed it over to Ianto.

"Looks like you thought of everything," Jack remarked.

Martha beamed proudly. "Mickey's a genius. He's at least as good as Tosh used to be."

Mickey ducked his head, embarrassed, yet pleased, by his wife's praise.

They soon pulled up in front of the hotel; a nondescript, but decent enough place. Mickey slipped the car into the first available space and killed the engine.

"We got the room two doors down from you," Mickey informed them, "I'll be making use of the hotel's free wifi to keep workin' on your new i.d.'s."

"Meanwhile, you two get some rest," Martha said. Her nose wrinkled. "No offense, but you both look like you've been run over."

"I _feel_ it," Jack groaned. Ianto nodded in weary agreement. That nap he took in the helicopter seemed like ages ago.

They all got out of the car and headed for their respective rooms. As soon as Jack and Ianto entered theirs, Jack laughed at the sight of the king-size bed. "Y'know, I half expected Mickey to have gotten us a double."

"Maybe this was Martha's influence." Ianto sat on the edge of the bed and fell back onto the mattress with a groan, arms splayed. Jack smiled at the sight.

The older man went to the window and pushed the heavy curtain aside just enough to peer through. "There's a pizza place across the street. We really should eat something."

On cue, Ianto's stomach growled. He slowly raised himself up on his elbows. "Gimme a moment and I'll go."

"No," Jack held up a hand, "You're shattered. I'll go."

"Got any cash?"

Jack checked his pockets, shook his head. Ianto dug out a twenty and handed it over.

"Thanks. I'll be back before you know it." Jack opened the door, paused, looked back at the Welshman who was already lying flat on his back again. "Hey."

Ianto managed to raise his head. "Hmm?"

"I love you, too."

First there was surprise, then a smile so brilliant it seemed to make the younger man's entire face glow. Jack's breath hitched. A knot deep in his chest unraveled just slightly. Right then he resolved to do whatever it took to see that smile again, every day, for as long as Ianto was with him.

* * *

Jack returned with a pizza and two sodas stacked atop the box. He found Ianto sound asleep, his breaths coming out in a soft almost-snore. Jack debated with himself over whether to wake the younger man or let him sleep. He finally set the pizza box down on the room's dresser and sat on the edge of the bed beside Ianto. He gently removed Ianto's shoes, loosened and removed his tie, and unfastened the buttons of his waistcoat.

Ianto stirred and blinked awake. He smiled in recognition, rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "'M starvin'."

Jack grinned at how adorable Ianto looked in that unguarded moment. "I got pepperoni." Ianto's favorite.

They sat on the bed with the pizza box between them, both too tired to hold a conversation. The pizza disappeared at an alarming rate as the long day without a meal finally caught up to them. When they were done Jack tossed the empty box onto the dresser again, along with the soda cans. Then he and Ianto stripped down to their boxer briefs and crawled under the covers. Their arms and legs twined around each other.

With the lights out and the curtains drawn, the room was comfortably dark. That, combined with their bodies' closeness, helped the two men relax enough for sleep to begin overtaking them.

"I love you," Ianto murmured, breath ghosting against Jack's neck.

"I love you," the immortal whispered back. The knot in his chest unraveled a little more at those words.

* * *

Ianto woke to find himself alone in an unfamiliar bed. He lay still, waiting for the disorientation to clear, and heard the comforting sound of Jack's voice talking quietly. Ianto cracked open his eyes, saw the older man standing on the other side of the room, clad only in his trousers. He was talking into the mobile Mickey had given them. Jack noticed the Welshman was awake and flashed him a smile, but didn't interrupt his conversation. From the sound of it, he was bringing Gwen up to speed.

Ianto sat up with a jaw-popping yawn. He checked his watch and discovered he'd been asleep for over ten hours. Well, he certainly needed it. His mind felt much clearer now. Ianto rose from the bed and made his way to the bathroom. After he emptied his bladder, he washed his hands and splashed cold water in his face. He really needed a shower, but first he wanted the chance to talk to his sister. He needed to explain to her why he wouldn't be coming home, and he wanted to say goodbye to her and the children.

As if reading his mind, Jack held the phone out to him. "Your sister."

Ianto took the phone with a nod of thanks. He brought it to his ear. "Rhi?"

_"Ianto? Jesus, what the hell is going on? Gwen said something about you and Jack being on the run."_

"It's alright, Rhi. We're okay, we just...can't come back to Cardiff for a while."

_"For how long?"_

Ianto sighed. "I don't know. Months, maybe." _At least_, he thought.

_"What happened, Ianto?"_

He was suddenly at a loss. He was so used to keeping secrets, yet didn't want to lie to his sister anymore. He gave Jack a helpless look. The immortal smiled in reassurance and nodded.

_"Yan,"_ Rhiannon's voice was hurt, _"Don't start shutting me out again. Please, just tell me what's wrong."_

"That boy we went to see. Steven. He's Jack's grandson."

_"His grandson? But how-"_

"Jack's...different. He doesn't age like other people," Ianto doubted she was ready to hear the whole immortality and rising-from-the-dead thing, "Steven's why the aliens were driven away. He let us send a signal through him that hurt the 456, but it almost killed him as well. He was dying when we went to see him. I can't really explain how, but Jack saved Steven. And now this government agency called Unit wants to bring Jack in to study him."

_"So, it's _Jack_ they're after, not you."_

Ianto felt a spark of anger. "I'm not leaving him, Rhi. I love him. And he loves me."

There was a long pause before Rhiannon spoke again. _"I...I wasn't going to say that. I remember that look on your face when you told me about him. Same look as when you were with Lisa."_

Ianto winced; she still didn't know the whole story about Lisa.

_"So, erm,"_ she cleared her throat, and Ianto suddenly realized she was fighting tears, _"So he loves you back? He said so, yeah?"_

"Yes," Ianto smiled at the older man, "He said it."

_"Good."_ Rhiannon fell silent for a moment. Collecting herself. _"Try and keep in touch, Yan. I'll miss you."_

"And I'll miss you. I'll contact you as much as I can," he promised.

_"Okay. Say goodbye to the kids, now."_ She called over the children and Ianto spent the next several minutes saying goodbye to David and Mica. He even exchanged a few words with Johnny (Ianto's brother-in-law seemed to be growing on him). Finally, he spoke to Gwen. From the sound of her voice, he could tell she was close to tears.

_"Oh, Ianto. Don't you know you're supposed to keep Jack _out_ of trouble?"_

Ianto chuckled softly. "You know Jack. Law unto himself."

_"Right,"_ Gwen laughed, then became more serious, _"I told Jack I'd see Torchwood rebuilt. Cardiff still needs protecting from the rift."_

"That's good to hear. Do me a favor, though? Get out as soon as you can. Your family needs you more than Torchwood does."

_"I will. I'll miss you both, Ianto. So much. Come home when you can."_

"I'll miss you, too. Goodbye, Gwen."

_"Goodbye, Ianto."_

Ianto ended the call and set the mobile down on the bedside table. He felt a tightness in his throat at the knowledge that it might be years before he saw any of them again. It hurt worse than he ever expected.

An arm went around his shoulders and he let himself lean against Jack. He met the older man's blue gaze with his own and murmured, "We both need a shower."

Jack smiled, placed a light kiss on Ianto's lips, "You read my mind." He took Ianto's hand in his and the two of them stepped into the bathroom.

* * *

**A/N:** Just a bit of forewarning; the rating for this story is probably going to change to M within the next chapter or two, I'm not entirely sure when.

Thanks for Reviewing, Fav-ing, and Following! :-D


	6. Partners

**A/N:** Okay, so... This chapter officially changes the rating to M. I'll admit I'm a tad nervous; never written a male/male scene before. I hope whatever criticisms you dear readers have will be gentle. :-)

**Warning: Mature scene in the beginning of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

As soon as Ianto drew the cheap plastic shower curtain closed, Jack pressed him up against the cold tiles of the wall and crashed their mouths together. Their bodies were slippery from the warm water that cascaded over them. Ianto wrapped his arms tight around the older man while Jack held his face in both hands and continued to plunder his mouth. Ianto moaned at the feel of their erections brushing against each other. The rapid pounding of his heart and the lack of air left him lightheaded.

Jack finally broke the kiss and the two men gasped in deep lungfuls of air. He stared into the Welshman's glassy eyes, felt his chest tighten as the events of the last few days finally began to catch up with him. That hellish moment in Thames House when he cradled Ianto in his arms and felt the younger man's life slip away. He didn't know or care how Ianto was brought back; it only mattered that he was here, now. It was a gift Jack intended to cherish for as long as he could. But it also made him all too aware of what it would feel like when he eventually, inevitably, lost Ianto again.

Ianto read all this in the immortal's anguished blue eyes. He saw Jack struggle to find the words he needed to say.

"Yan..."

Ianto cut him off with another deep kiss. "No talking," he murmured against the other man's lips.

Jack didn't argue. His left hand cupped the back of Ianto's head while the right slid down between them and wrapped itself around the younger man's erection. Ianto's head fell back against the shower tiles, eyes shut, mouth open in a silent cry. His emotions were just as turbulent as Jack's, which made him all the more sensitive to every sensation. He bucked his hips into the older man's grasp. "Jack...Jack..."

Jack chuckled, "Thought you said no talking." He dropped to his knees and abruptly took Ianto's entire length into his mouth. Ianto gasped loudly, hands automatically tangling themselves in Jack's hair. His fingers tugged almost painfully on the brown locks while his hips thrust of their own volition. Jack hummed in encouragement, which caused the Welshman to groan as if in pain. Jack's hands reached around to squeeze each cheek of Ianto's ass, kneading them as he continued to pleasure the younger man with his mouth.

"Oh god, Jack," Ianto moaned, "I'm c- I'm cumming."

Jack responded by deep-throating him. Within seconds Ianto wailed his release. His back arched, head thrown back, and toes curled. When it was over he slumped against the wall, his knees too shaky to hold his weight. Jack allowed Ianto's now flaccid member to slip from his mouth, then slowly kissed his way up the younger man's body until he reached his lips. Ianto kissed him back languidly, then rested his head against the older man's shoulder. "I hope that was just the sneak preview."

Jack let out a warm chuckle. "Trust me, there's plenty more in store for you."

Ianto gave a pleased hum and kissed the older man's shoulder.

THUD-THUD-THUD

The sound drifted through the bathroom's open doorway. Both men tensed.

"Someone knocked," Ianto declared.

"Ignore it," Jack's arms tightened around his lover, "It's just housekeeping."

THUD-THUD-THUD

"Housekeeping always announce themselves," Ianto pointed out with his usual logic, "Besides, I saw you put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door."

"Shit." They could not catch a bloody break! Jack reluctantly disentangled himself from their embrace. He batted aside the shower curtain, got out, and grabbed a towel off the rack.

THUD-THUD-THUD

"I'm coming!" Jack bellowed, wrapping the towel around his waist as he stormed out of the bathroom.

"If only," Ianto lamented. He turned off the shower and helped himself to the remaining towel, dried himself hastily, and hurried into the room to grab his trousers. He managed to slip them on just as Jack threw open the door to reveal a smiling Martha and Mickey.

Mickey's grin slipped when he took in Jack's undressed state (whereas Martha's widened a little). "Er, catch ya at a bad time?"

"You could say that," Jack grated. He moved aside to let them in, however; they wouldn't have shown up if it wasn't important. He shut the door behind them and went to sit on the bed.

Martha held up a paper bag and a cardboard holder carrying two cups. "We brought donuts and coffee."

Ianto immediately left off buttoning his shirt to rush over and take the coffees from her. "Thank god! You are a saint."

Jack watched the Welshman take a long sip from his coffee with a blissful expression on his face. The immortal never imagined he'd ever be jealous of a beverage.

Jack accepted the bag of donuts from Martha with a nod of thanks. "I take it you finished setting up our new identities?" he asked as he dug out a jam donut and took a big bite.

"Yep." Mickey and his wife went to the small table-and-two-chairs setup in the corner of the room and dragged over the two chairs for themselves. Meanwhile Ianto sat down beside Jack on the bed and handed him the other coffee.

Mickey reached into his backpack and pulled out two packets. "Got everything you need here. Passports, drivers licenses, credit cards." He passed them to each man. "I also hacked into Unit's mainframe and tinkered with their facial recognition software so the program won't register your faces on the CCTV."

Martha beamed at her husband. "Genius."

Mickey preened a little at her praise. "It's just a temporary thing, though. Unit's IT department does a lot of regular checks for viruses, so you might not wanna stick around the UK longer than you have to."

Jack turned to Ianto. "Looks like we'll be seeing the world a little sooner than we planned."

Ianto smiled.

Their task done, Martha and Mickey readied to leave, though it was obvious they wished they could linger. Who knew when they'd see each other again?

"I guess this is goodbye," Martha said with a sad smile, "D'you think you'll be back someday?"

Jack stood and drew her into a hug. "I'm sure we will." He kissed her cheek. Martha—out of her husband's view—gave Jack's bottom a surreptitious pinch. Jack responded with a look of startled amusement. Martha grinned and winked, then went to give Ianto a farewell embrace.

Jack turned to Mickey and held out his arms. Mickey eyed the immortal's undressed state and declared, "Yeah, I'm not hugging ya 'til you put on some trousers."

The immortal fake-pouted. "Spoilsport." They settled for a handshake instead. "If you two get tired of the freelance life, I'm sure there'd be a place for you in Torchwood once it's rebuilt."

Mickey nodded. "We'll keep that in mind."

"Thanks, Mickey," Jack said in a more serious tone, "I'm not sure how easy it would've been for me and Ianto to get out of there without your and Martha's help."

Mickey nodded modestly. "You 'n' Ianto look after yourselves, mate."

"We will."

As soon as the Jones-Smiths left, Jack turned to Ianto with a leer. "Now, where were we?"

Ianto's smile took on that sultry cast which never failed to drive the older man wild. "I believe we were about to start the main event, sir."

Jack's grin broadened as he eagerly reached for Ianto's half-buttoned shirt. He soon had the younger man naked again and they stretched out on the king-sized on their sides, fronts pressed together. Ianto felt Jack's erection against his thigh, but the immortal seemed in no hurry, content to kiss and run his hands over Ianto's skin. Then Jack murmured in his ear, "You wanna know why I hate the word 'couple'?"

Ianto blinked; this seemed a strange time to have this discussion. Truthfully, in the frantic pace of the past week, he'd pretty much forgotten. But now his curiosity was piqued. "Why?"

Jack's calloused fingers gently traced the Welshman's features. "Because couples never last. They don't see each other for who they really are, only what's on the surface. They don't care enough to know. That's not us."

"Then what are we?" Ianto's eyes held a trace of anxiety.

Jack smiled. "We're partners."

With that declaration, everything came together for the Welshman. He recalled all the times they'd been out on assignment together. Jack used to introduce them as associates, but then, after they lost Tosh and Owen, he abruptly changed the script.

_"Captain Jack Harkness, and this is my partner, Mr. Ianto Jones."_

Ianto had noticed, but never gave it any real thought. All those times he had not-so-subtly fished for some kind of confirmation, and Jack had been saying it all along.

Ianto caught the older man by surprise when he pushed him onto his back and got on top of him. He kissed Jack with a passion that bordered on violent, and Jack was all too happy to follow his lead. There were no more uncertainties, no more doubts. There was only belonging. They belonged to each other.

* * *

After christening the hotel bed, they showered again and redressed. Ianto wrinkled his nose in distaste at his rumpled suit. "We definitely need more clothes."

"Guess this calls for a shopping trip," Jack declared. He and Ianto left the hotel and made their way to the nearest shopping arcade where they made quick use of their new credit cards. They left the clothing shop dressed in new jeans and shirts and each carried a duffel filled with more clothes (and in Jack's case, his greatcoat).

Ianto used the untraceable phone Mickey had given them to check Cardiff Airport's website for available overseas flights. "There's a plane for Naples in a little over two hours."

Jack grinned. "How's your Italian?"

"Passable. Shall I purchase the tickets?"

"Absolutely. Italy sounds like a good place to start." Jack headed for the street to flag down a taxi. "See if you can get us into first class," he winked, "Might as well splurge while we're on the lam."

Lucky for them, air travel was still relatively light due to the recent 456 incident, so getting the tickets on short notice wasn't as much of a problem as it otherwise would have been. Ianto finished the transaction just as a taxi pulled up to the curb. He and Jack climbed in and Jack instructed the driver to take them to the airport.

Ianto's practical side asserted itself. "We can't live off these credit cards forever. We're going to need a source of income at some point."

"Not a problem," Jack replied, unconcerned, "I've got accounts set up all over the place. We won't have money problems anytime soon." One of the advantages of being an immortal from the future; knowing which long-term investments would pay off the most. Despite his rather spartan lifestyle, Jack was actually quite wealthy and he made sure to scatter his funds all over the world under various aliases, both in case of emergencies should he be on assignment overseas, as well as to better conceal it all from whoever might want to pry into his assets.

Jack stared out of the taxi window, watched the familiar scenery passing by. Cardiff had been his home for over a century. He was surprised to discover the knowledge he'd be leaving it soon, and would not be seeing it again for some time, brought a feeling akin to homesickness. He wondered if Ianto felt the same; the Welshman was born here, after all. Jack looked at Ianto, saw the younger man gazing out his window as well. "Hey."

Ianto's head swiveled to meet his gaze.

"It's not too late to change your mind, y'know."

A puzzled frown marred the younger man's brow. "About what?"

"Running away with me," Jack tried to make it sound flippant; he failed, "Unit's only interested in finding me. They should leave you alone."

"Oh, sure. After they've run a thousand tests on me to figure out why I came back from the dead." Ianto smiled wanly. "I'm not interested in getting left behind, Jack."

"You've lived here most of your life."

"So have you," the Welshman pointed out.

Jack smiled at that. "Never really thought of it that way." And said no more about it.

They grabbed a bite at the airport while they waited for their flight to board. Jack kept his eyes peeled for any signs of possible followers, and he was pleased to notice Ianto do the same. Luck continued to be with them, however. They made it through the security checks and boarded the plane without incident. Jack was gracious enough to let Ianto have the window seat.

The flight attendant was a cute brunette who Jack, naturally, flirted shamelessly with. There was a time, not too long ago, when Ianto would have viewed Jack's antics with jealousy. But now that he trusted the security of their relationship, he watched in amusement as his lover made the flight attendant blush.

As the plane took off, Ianto watched Cardiff shrink into the distance. He wondered if he would ever see it again, and found the thought of never coming back not as painful as he would've thought. Instead, he felt a flutter of excitement rise in him. It didn't feel like he and Jack were pretty much on the run. It felt more as if they were going on an adventure. Not for Torchwood, but for themselves. Not to save the world, but to explore it, and take in new experiences together. For the first time since before the 456 inflicted themselves upon the Earth, Ianto was genuinely happy.


	7. Flight

**A/N: **Here it is, the final chapter. I really loved writing this story, and I'm glad some of you readers out there liked it as well. Thanks once again for all the reviews, favs, and follows. Happy reading! :-D

**Disclaimer: _Torchwood _is the property of the BBC and Russell T. Davies. This fanfic is purely for entertainment and I am not making a penny off it.**

_Six months later..._

It happened in the most mundane way. No hostile aliens or government agents, no armed madmen or natural disasters. It was a simple accident.

They were in Chicago. Ianto wanted to eat dinner in a restaurant instead of ordering room service, so they left their hotel room. Ianto was wearing a tailored suit he bought back in New York, a gorgeous charcoal grey pinstripe with matching waistcoat and a deep red shirt and charcoal tie with diagonal red stripes. It had been a long time since he wore a suit and Jack was sorely tempted to drag the Welshman back into their room so he could unwrap him like a present. Jack was wearing black trousers, a powder blue dress shirt, dark blue waistcoat, and a tie Ianto insisted he put on because the restaurant they were going to apparently had a dress code. He also had on his greatcoat, a detail he knew Ianto appreciated.

They waited at the elevators for a few moments, but Jack got impatient. They were only three floors up, he reasoned, they could take the stairs.

On their way down they passed a woman and child heading up to their room. The little boy had a box of Gobstoppers in his hand which he kept shaking, much to the mother's annoyance. As the two men started down the next flight, Ianto talking animatedly about a museum he wanted to visit the next day, neither one of them noticed the jawbreaker the little boy had dropped moments ago. Ianto's foot landed on the hard candy. His eyes widened in shock as his foot slipped out from under him. His arm lashed out to grab the handrail, missed. For just a second, it felt like he was flying.

It happened so fast Jack didn't have time to reach out for him. One second Ianto was walking beside him, the next the younger man went crashing down the stairs. He fell onto the next landing with a sickening crack and lay still. Jack gaped down at his motionless form, stunned, then ran down the stairs to kneel at Ianto's side. He gently turned the Welshman over, saw the open eyes staring at nothing, the unnatural angle to his neck, the jut of displaced vertebrae beneath the skin. Jack's hands began to tremble.

"No. No no-no-no." He tried desperately to find a pulse, even laid his ear against the younger man's chest, but there was nothing. A sob tore at the immortal's throat. He sat back on his heels and gently scooped Ianto's body into his arms, Ianto's head cradled against his shoulder. He rocked back and forth, tears streaming from his eyes. _Too soon...too soon..._ Fifty years wouldn't have been enough, but they didn't even have that. How could fate be so cruel as to take the person he loved more than anything mere months after miraculously returning him to life?

"Ianto, please, please don't leave me. I love you so much," Jack wept.

A loud gasp, a flail of limbs. Jack flinched away in shock as Ianto sat up, breathing heavily. The Welshman took in Jack's stunned, tear-stained expression and shivered in response, deeply shaken. "Jack," he reached out to the older man, "I'm...I'm okay?"

Jack didn't answer. He grabbed the younger man and yanked him into a violent kiss. Their teeth clacked together and there was the taste of blood. Ianto didn't try to pull away. He clutched the lapels of Jack's greatcoat and tried to bring them even closer together. When they finally came up for air they scrambled to their feet and practically ran back up the stairs to their hotel room. The instant the door slammed shut behind them they began to rip at each other's clothes. They were naked before they toppled onto the bed.

Their lovemaking was filled with desperation, almost brutal at times. They clawed and bit as much as they kissed and caressed. More than anything, they needed to lose themselves in the sensation of one another's body. Only when Jack's throbbing member finally slid into Ianto did they slow down. Blue eyes gazed intently into blue eyes as their bodies moved together in perfect rhythm.

"I love you," Jack whispered, "I love you, Yan."

"Jack..." Tears welled in Ianto's eyes at the depth of emotion he saw in Jack's expression. He wanted to live in this moment forever, but already he felt himself reaching his peak. He tightened his legs around Jack's waist and dug his fingers into Jack's shoulders. Jack's response was to increase the pace of his thrusts. He changed his angle until he was hitting Ianto's sweet spot on every downstroke. The Welshman's eyes rolled back and a groan rose from deep in his chest. His body began to shake with the nearness of his orgasm. "Oh, god! Jack...Jack!"

Jack reached between them and gave Ianto's erection a single tug. That was all it took to send the younger man tumbling over the edge. Jack followed seconds later crying Ianto's name.

They lay afterwards in a tangle of sweaty limbs. Jack's head rested against Ianto's chest, taking comfort in the steady thumping of his heart. Ianto ran his fingers through the older man's sweat-dampened hair and stared up at the ceiling in thought.

"So...I died."

Jack didn't want to talk about it, but knew he had to. He wrapped himself a little more securely around the Welshman before he answered, "Your neck broke. No heartbeat. It happened instantly."

"There was nothing but dark," Ianto spoke slowly, "Felt like I was sinking into it. Then there was this sudden pull and all my senses came back at once. It hurt. It was like-"

"Like being dragged over broken glass."

"Yeah." He looked down at the older man. "Is that what it's like for you?"

"Every time." Jack placed a kiss over Ianto's heart. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?"

Jack's voice was full of bitterness, "It's a curse. The worst anybody could have. I wish I knew how this happened to you so I could figure out a way to reverse it. You don't deserve this."

Ianto considered his words. "I don't think this is a curse."

Jack lifted his head to stare incredulously at him. "How can you say that? You'll have to watch everyone around you age and die. The world will keep changing while you stay frozen in place."

"But I won't be alone," Ianto pressed a hand to the older man's cheek, "And neither will you. Not anymore. This doesn't have to be a curse, because we'll have each other."

"Yan..."

"I'll never leave you, Jack." It was a promise he was finally free to make.

Jack stared at him with tearful eyes, then pushed forward to meet his lips in a slow kiss. He began to think that maybe Ianto was right; maybe this wasn't a curse. Because now Ianto could offer him the one thing he'd truly wanted all along; an end to his loneliness.

Jack could do nothing less than accept.

* * *

A little less than two weeks later, they were back in Wales. Cardiff glittered in the distance, rivaling the clear night sky. Ianto didn't feel the need to enter that city; he'd already called his sister, said his goodbyes. He was taking in the view atop a hill far out in the country. Jack was beside him, as he had been every day for the past half-year. Both their coats were buttoned up against the cold, their hands buried in their pockets. Their breaths misted with every exhale.

"I did not miss this weather," Jack remarked.

Ianto smirked. "Neither did I, yet you don't hear me complaining."

"I'm not complaining," Jack retorted levelly, "I'm merely stating a fact."

Both men shared a grin.

They heard the sound of a car engine in the distance which silence once it reached the end of the road. Moments later, two figures plodded into view. Rhys and Gwen. Gwen's belly protruded from her unzipped leather coat. Her face seemed to glow from expectant motherhood as much as the cold. Ianto glanced at Jack, saw the older man's expression soften at the sight of her.

When Jack and Ianto Naples, half a year ago, Jack had accessed one of his many accounts to purchase a car, and the two men spent the next several months zigzagging Europe. There was no rhyme or reason to their travels; they picked a random direction and just drove until they found a town or village that caught their fancy for a while. They saw so many beautiful places, slept in hostels, inns, bed-and-breakfasts. One of Ianto's favorite experiences in that time was spending an entire day with Jack on the shores of a lake somewhere in Spain, not another human being in sight. They swam naked in the cold water and then warmed each other up on a blanket spread on the ground. Jack said he would forever remember lying on his back with Ianto above him; Ianto's intense blue eyes staring down at him, and the even bluer sky beyond. So beautiful.

It wasn't all sunshine and laughter, though. There were dark times as well. Nightmares often plagued their nights, leaving one or both of them waking in a cold sweat. On the absolute worst nights, Jack would cling tightly to Ianto, sobbing and begging him to stay. And in the daytime there were memories to haunt them. Memories and grim thoughts.

Sitting at a table in an outdoor cafe in a rural French town, Jack and Ianto had laughed at yet another of the immortal's humorous stories. Then Ianto took a bite of his pain au chocolat, and Jack noticed a crumb on the corner of his mouth, and it somehow made the Welshman look so young and innocent that it brought sudden, unexpected tears to his eyes. It was such a tiny detail, easily forgotten, and yet Jack wished he could store it away in his mind. Because most of life was details, and without them memory was just a blur with only the strongest aspects remaining. Yet years from now memories would be all that remained of Ianto. Jack did his best not to think about it, but some moments, like now, the knowledge hit him so hard...

Thankfully, the moment passed before Ianto noticed anything was amiss. The rest of the day went well. But the painful thoughts kept Jack up for most of that night.

Another time, Ianto was hit with a deep sense of melancholy when he realized he'd forgotten all about Lisa's birthday. The last two years, he visited Lisa's body down in Torchwood's morgue, told her about everything that happened to him over the months. The fact that her body was likely destroyed along with the Hub, and that he couldn't visit her now even if that weren't the case, did nothing to ease Ianto's deep-seated guilt. He wouldn't accept Jack's attempts to comfort him, just kept to himself for the next few days.

But it passed, as did all the bad moments. And no matter how bad they got, they did nothing to detract from the many joys Jack and Ianto experienced.

Every few weeks they would get in touch with their loved ones back in Cardiff. It was funny how Ianto felt closer to his sister and her family then than he ever had when living only a few miles from her. Rhiannon kept him abreast of the children's progress in school (high marks for both of them, though David was starting to have trouble in maths) and Johnny's latest quick cash schemes.

As for Gwen, she, with some help from Unit, kept busy salvaging what she could from the Hub's wreckage while also establishing Torchwood Three's newest base of operations. Amazingly, she told the two men during one of their calls that Myfanwy was still alive. The pterosaur had been out on one of her nocturnal flights when the Hub blew and was discovered nesting in the top floor of an abandoned department store and catching fish from the bay at night. Through judicious use of dark chocolate and a large net, Gwen was able to recapture the dinosaur and put her in a nice roomy warehouse until the new Hub was ready.

Sadly, Janet the Weevil and the other residents of the Vault were not so lucky. The entire Hub had collapsed inward, crushing the helpless aliens under several tons of rubble. The only consolation was that their deaths were quick.

The morgue fared no better. Every cryogenic container sustained damage, many beyond repair. The bodies they once housed were all in advanced decay by the time they were uncovered. Gwen decided it was best to lay all the bodies to rest in the nearest cemetery. To hell with regulations. Tosh, at least, deserved a decent burial.

Gray was dead. His cryogenic chamber's life support system had been damaged. He died peacefully in his sleep. Jack wasn't surprised to hear about his brother's death—had been all but certain of it, in fact—but the news still hit him hard. All the guilt he carried over Gray's fate resurfaced, and for a long while he was inconsolable. Ianto expected the immortal to push him away in his grief, but instead Jack clung to him even tighter, as if terrified he might lose him as well. Ianto wished he could promise he would always be with him, but knew that would be a cruel lie. So he said nothing, and helped Jack through his sorrow by being there for him.

So it went. Jack and Ianto left Europe altogether and traveled across the pond to the States where they continued their travels. Gwen resigned from Torchwood once the new facility was mostly completed and staffed, and once her pregnancy became noticeably advanced.

And now here they were, six months almost to the day since Ianto and Jack left the UK behind. But their travels were far from over.

"Couldn't have just chosen a pub, could you?" Gwen huffed as she and her husband reached the top of the steep hill.

"It's bloody freezin'," Rhys shivered dramatically, "My feet."

"Oh, I miss that. The Welsh complaining," Jack smirked.

Ianto quirked an eyebrow at his partner.

"What? I didn't mean you."

"Of course you didn't." Ianto sounded less than convinced.

Jack turned back to Gwen with a smile and stepped closer to hug her. "You look good."

She rolled her eyes. "I look huge."

"She's bloody gorgeous." Rhys beamed.

Gwen stepped away from Jack and went to hug Ianto. "Oh, I missed you."

"I missed you, too" Ianto pecked a kiss on her cheek.

"It was a bloody nightmare organizing everything at the new Torchwood," she lamented, "I honestly don't know how you did it for so long."

"Some people are just gifted," Jack declared, grinning at his partner's eye roll.

Gwen turned to the immortal. "You okay? You sounded odd on the phone."

"We're fine." Jack and Ianto shared a look that Gwen could not decipher.

"Are you here to stay, then?" she asked, hopeful.

Jack shook his head. "Just a stopover."

Gwen didn't hide her disappointment. "Where are you going this time?"

"Far away." Jack turned his gaze skyward. The others did the same. High above, a bright speck of light slowly moved across the starry sky. Anyone who noticed it would've thought it was just a satellite. Gwen suspected otherwise.

"Is that..."

"A cold fusion cruiser surfing the ion reefs just at the edge of the solar system, just waiting to open its transport dock," Jack grinned at her.

Incredulous, Rhys blurted, "You're leaving Earth?"

Ianto spoke, "Jack's told so many stories about other worlds he's seen. Places he wanted to show me. What better time than now?"

Jack held up his left hand. "Sort of my wedding gift to him."

Gwen gasped at the ring adorning his finger. Ianto held up his own hand to reveal its mate. Closer scrutiny revealed the bands were silver, with a repeating pattern wrapped all the way around. On Jack's it was the figure-eight symbol of infinity. On Ianto's, an hourglass; what escaped Gwen's and Rhys's notice, however, was the detail that the hourglass was on its side, the sands frozen in place. Nor would they have understood its full meaning had they noticed. It was something Ianto and Jack had discussed for a long time. After a great deal of arguing and soul searching, they finally decided it would be best not to tell Gwen about Ianto's newfound immortality. They didn't like keeping secrets from her, but Jack felt it was safer for her not to know, and Ianto didn't want her to look at him or treat him any different than before.

"You got married?" Rhys's face broke out into a huge grin. "Congratulations!"

"Nothing official," Ianto shrugged, "It's not as if we went to the ministers and exchanged vows."

"We don't need a document to make it real," Jack asserted.

"So you're going to hitch a ride on that cruiser?" Gwen asked.

"Yep," Jack nodded, "I just need to send a signal."

Gwen smiled, held up a finger, then reached into her coat pocket to pull out a familiar object. Jack's wrist strap. "They found it in the wreckage. Indestructible. Like its owner." She handed it over. "I put on a new strap for you."

"Cost me 50 quid, that," Rhys interjected.

"Bill me," Jack quipped. He put on the wrist strap with a sense of relief; his wrist had felt strangely naked for the past several months.

"Are you ever coming back?" Gwen's voice held a faint tremor.

Jack cocked his head, feigning ignorance. "What for?"

Gwen laughed and punched his shoulder. "For me, you cheeky bugger! I want my baby to meet its godfathers someday."

Jack laughed and hugged her. "Yeah, we'll come back."

"You'd better." She hugged him, kissed his cheek, then went to embrace and kiss Ianto farewell as well. "Take care of him," she whispered, repeating the exact same words she'd whispered to Jack a second ago.

"I will," the younger man promised.

Rhys shook their hands and wished them well, then he and his wife stepped back, arms linked.

Jack and Ianto shouldered the duffel bags that lay by their feet. Jack pulled back the flap on his wrist strap and pressed a couple of buttons on his vortex manipulator. He smiled at his partner. "Better hold on."

Ianto put his arms around the older man's waist. "Always."

Jack pressed the final button and a white glow enveloped them. They vanished into the brightening light, which then shot up into the sky like a reverse falling star, soon gone from sight.

Rhys put his arm around his wife. "Let's go home."

Gwen nodded, wiped her eyes, and let herself be gently led back down the hill to where their car waited.


End file.
